Bituin Escalante: Stellar funk and spunk

Her twinkling days are over.

The faint flicker of musical talent that initially earned her raves in the theatric realm has now been magnified tenfold. All she needed was a chance to shine under more starry skies.

Barely a year since her foray in the recording and live performance circuit, Bituin Escalante now exudes a more palpable radiance. With a voice so powerful it can also be felt, she has been anointed as the most likely addition to the now-bloated list of local divas.

Very few have been so amply blessed. Within a month after bagging her first record deal under Rock Records early this year, Bituin found herself suddenly immersed in a bevy of gigs that would leave even the most seasoned crooners gasping for breath. And like the hottest showbiz gossip, her reputation spread like wildfire, spawning more frequent singing sprees–a five-city tour with Verni Varga and Ima Castro and guest spots in Martin Nievera and Gary Valenciano’s sold-out concerts. Prior to these, she was swapping lines with Gary in the hit musical Joseph the Dreamer, flaunting irreverence as Mary Magdalene in the Manila production of Jesus Christ Superstar and eventually bagging her rightful share of plaudits in Bob Larson’s RENT. She was, as director Bobby Garcia so aptly put, "our best-kept weapon, one of the standouts of the recently-held musical."

As if that were not enough, she still makes room for other guesting stints, the most recent of which include concerts of Candy Pangilinan, the Wiseguys and the much-awaited Ai-Ai de las Alas homecoming at the Folk Arts Theater today.

The turn of events was not purely because of luck, however, Bituin got her first taste of applause as an understudy in Celeste Legaspi’s seminal group, Musical Theater Philippines. As an interesting sidelight, together with Bituin’s mom, Gigi Escalante, Celeste propelled the Ambivalent Crowd, possibly one of the finest ’70s showbands, to eventual fame.

So, Bituin’s musical predisposition has its genetic basis, after all. "My biggest influence was my mom. It’s amazing how a lot of the more senior theater people give me that nod of recognition when I tell them who my mom is. Parang they see the connection right away," she proudly asserts.

"The greatest thing that I’ve learned from her is that singing is all about feel. It’s all about heart. Puso…puso talaga! Find out your own truth and build from there."

Is her mom critical? "Very. She doesn’t say much but her face says it all. She usually waits ’til I’m in a medyo happy mood, and then that’s when she drops the bomb, like, "Hoy… flat ka!!!" At other times, she would say, "I don’t like what you’re wearing. Typical mom, ’di ba," she says in jest.

"I was dared by Celeste’s son, Ige Gallardo, to go onstage and audition for the play Sino Ka Ba, Jose Rizal?, written by Rene Villanueva. By some stroke of luck, I made it and although I was just with the chorus then, I was happy ’coz even after the shows, I could hear the people humming and echoing my songs. OK na sa ’kin yon." she reminisces.

Had she not ventured into theater and singing, she would probably be making movies. After two years of Communication Arts studies in UP Los Baños, Bituin transferred to UP Diliman where she dabbled in film for almost a year. "I’ve always wanted to make good films. I’ve always loved good movies," she exclaims.

Her favorites? "Muro Ami, despite it’s being over-rated. I especially liked Amy Austria’s performance. She showed true grit…she was so…totoo!!!," Bituin raves.

It takes one to know one. The spunky lass was still reeling from a recent late night talk show taping stint where the director ordered her to sing in an uncompromising position. Sticking to her firm conviction that the request was rather unreasonable, she stuck to her guns and refused to budge. It was a mere coincidence that the theme for the night, a Streisand tribute, prompted the director to ask her other guests, "What do you like about Streisand?," to which Bituin hastily replied, "She’s not afraid to speak her mind out, that’s why she ends up fighting and arguing with a lot of her directors!"

After having been made to wait for some four hours in the studio’s clammy confines, her more tactful side still ruled. She only wonders if the cranky director and her callous crew got the message.